Oh the irony of it all
by water wolf 100
Summary: Jerome gets a hold of Nina's MP3 player and finds a song on there to be very relatable. What song? And how does it apply to his life? These answers await you inside. So please come on in.


**OK so I know you were all expecting my next update to be for House of Ellada but I was listening to Taylor Swift music and this song came on and for some reason my brain just went stright to Jara. When I get ideas like this I don't question them, I just write. So that's what I did. I wrote this, sent it to my beta (who is utterly amazing for getting back to me in under an hour), read her comments, then rewrote 90% of this so that it would be in a better format. This style of songfic is much different than what I normally write so I hope I didn't kill this story, or the song. I don't own Taylor Swift, her song or House of Anubis. Well I do, but only in my dreams. And I guarantee, the next update you will get from me is the next chapter of House of Ellada. In fact, I have the next chapter halfway done already. OK I think I've rambled long enough. Enjoy the story. **

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(Jerome's POV)

I was sitting on my bed, pretending to read a magazine. Technically I was reading a book by George Orwell, but I couldn't let anyone know. Mara seemed to like these old writer guys so I thought I'd give them a try. The librarian looked like she was going to have a heart attack when I checked it out. I was about halfway through when the door to our room flew open and Alfie scurried inside.

I saw the smirk on his face and knew he had done something devious. I had trained him so well. "What's up with the look mate?" I asked as I shoved the magazine and novel into my school bag.

"Check out what I got," Alfie said proudly. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a light blue MP3 player. "It's Nina's. She let it in the living room. I want to see how long it takes before she realizes it's missing." He tossed the device over to me and I grinned.

"Alfie, I have never been more proud of you," I said happily as I got up from my bed. "I can't wait to watch this nightmare unfold." I slapped him on the back ad Alfie returned the grin. There was a sudden knock on our door and I shoved the MP3 into my pocket just as the door opened up.

Trudy stuck her head in and looked at each of us. "Boys, can one of you help me move some furniture in the living room? I need to clean under the couches," she asked kindly. That was typical Trudy. Always doing everything with a smile and never complaining.

"I'll help Trudes," Alfie said with a goofy grin. Trudy motioned for him to follow her and I shut the door behind both of them. With a thump I fell back on my bed and pulled out Nina's MP3 player. With a smirk I turned it on. I wonder what our dear American friend listened to. She had a lot of popular music on here. I saw Bruno Mars, Katy Perry and Rihanna on her artists list. I also saw Usher's name, as well as Eminem. I raised my eyes in surprise at that. Nina doesn't seem to be the kind of person that would listen to rap. I also saw several hard rock bands—looks like there was more to Nina than meets the eye. I made a note to remember this information for later. It might

I left her artists list and began scrolling through her top tracks list. "Now, now, what do we have here?" I asked out loud when I saw the name Taylor Swift pop up. I had heard Amber go on and on about her and I was curious to see if she could sing or not. Randomly, I chose a song called 'You Belong with Me', placed the ear buds in my ear and began listening.

_You're on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset  
__'Cause she doesn't get your humor like I do _

"HA! Poor sap. Has to listen to his girl gripe about something," I thought to myself.

_I'm in the room, it's a typical Tuesday night  
__I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like  
__And she'll never know your story like I do  
_

I found myself smirking at the irony. Today was Tuesday. As I listened to the words I thought to myself, "Mick would really hate this song." Wait a minute. Where did that come from? With every passing second I thought of how this song described my relationship with Mara—I know her story better than anyone. I've known her the longest of anyone at the house. I know for I a fact I know her better than Mick.

_But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts  
__She's Cheer Captain and I'm on the bleachers  
__Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find  
__That what you're looking for has been here the whole time_

OK, song diverged a bit from being relatable. I don't really wear t-shirts that often. And as for skirts, well I don't know what Mick does in his free time. Anything is possible I guess. A smirk crossed my lips when I heard cheer captain. Mick sure is as dramatic as a cheer leader. Suddenly, I felt my heart grow heavy. Will she ever realize that I'm the one for her?

_If you could see that I'm the one who understands you  
__Been here all along, so why can't you see?  
__You, you belong with me, you belong with me_

I raised my eyes slightly as the chorus played. I found it strangely easy to relate to this song.

_Walking the streets with you and your worn-out jeans  
__I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be  
__Laughing on a park bench, thinking to myself  
__Hey, isn't this easy?_

"It's like this song was written for me," I mumbled. Not that long ago Trudy had sent us out on errands and we had walked through the streets, talking and laughing. Technically I was the one in jeans but close enough. I remember thinking how easy it was to talk to Mara. I had never been able to talk to someone that way before.

_And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town  
__I haven't seen it in a while since she brought you down  
__You say you're fine, I know you better than that  
__Hey, what ya doing with a girl like that?_

I thought about Mara's smile. It probably could light up the town. It's so radiant and happy. But thanks to that meat-head and his drama she doesn't smile like she used to. The lyrics made me laugh a little to myself. 'What ya doing with a girl like that?' Mick is such a girl sometimes. Mara doesn't deserve a little girl like him, she deserves a man. A man like me.

_She wears high heels, I wear sneakers  
__She's Cheer Captain and I'm on the bleachers  
__Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find  
__That what you're looking for has been here the whole time_

I made a mental note to try and get Mick in some high heels. It would be the prank of the century. That would hopefully bring that sports-addicted Neanderthal down a few pegs. Then, I could sit back and watch a disaster take place before my eyes. Then maybe, just maybe, my dream of me with Mara would come true. Until that day comes, I won't stop dreaming about it.

_If you could see that I'm the one who understands you  
__Been here all along, so why can't you see?  
__You belong with me_

Mara does belong with me. I have way more in common with her than she does with Mick. Too bad she's obsessed with that jock. I still can't figure out how he can even function, with that ego of his taking up ninety percent of his brain.

_Standing by and waiting at your back door  
__All this time how could you not know?  
__Baby, you belong with me, you belong with me_

"I won't stop waiting for you," I whispered out loud. I just don't understand why she doesn't see what's right in front of her face. For someone so smart, Mara could be really stupid sometimes.

_Oh, I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night  
__I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're 'bout to cry  
__And I know your favorite songs and you tell me 'bout your dreams  
__Think I know where you belong, think I know it's with me_

That part made me chuckle lightly, technically she just walked down the stairs to my room one night. She had been upset about something so I tried to cheer her up. I'm good at making people laugh, it's a skill I'm proud of. The line about knowing her favorite song and her dreams was so true. Her all time favorite songs were all by Mozart. She loves that classical junk. As for her dreams—she wants to be a doctor for children in an impoverished country. When she told me she also admitted that no one else knew about that, not even her parents. This just proves that I'm better for her than Mick. She tells me things that not even her parents know.

_Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you?  
__Been here all along, so why can't you see?  
__You belong with me_

Words can't begin to describe how much I agree with the chorus of the song. I want her to be with me, and only me. I want it so badly I'd be willing to give up pranking people for good if I could just be able to hold her and call her my girl.

_Standing by and waiting at your back door  
__All this time, how could you not know?  
__Baby, you belong with me, you belong with me_

I made a promise then and there. I said to myself, "Mara Jaffray, I will wait for you forever. I know why you don't see what you have in front of you. It's probably because of that idiot Mick. I'm the perfect one for you Mara. Why can't you see that?"

_You belong with me_  
_Have you ever thought just maybe_  
_You belong with me?_  
_You belong with me_

I sat back and listened to the very end of the song. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. I can't believe how relatable the lyrics were. I hit pause just as the next song was coming and stared up at the ceiling. I don't even know how I started thinking about Mara while that song was playing. She's just always on my mind I guess.

With a sigh I sat up and looked around my room. What was it about Mara that made me like this? No other girl has ever had this kind of a hold over me before. The worst part was she didn't even know she did. Mara-with her silky black hair, warm chocolate eyes and smile that can light up the darkest of places. How could one girl be so amazing and so frustrating at the same time?

I ran my hand through my hair, trying to get control of my thoughts. Showing this kind of emotion is something now for me. Affection really isn't part of what makes me, well, me. No one had ever shown it to me, so where did I get it from? Probably Mara, she was good at giving affection to people who needed it the most. I guess that's why everyone likes her so much.

With a frustrated groan I fell back on my bed and placed a pillow over my face. As I lay there, a loud banging brought me out of my thoughts. "What?" I muttered. I heard the door open and footsteps cross the floor. Slowly I lifted the pillow off my face to see a flustered Nina standing above me.

"Where is it?" she asked. "Alfie said you had it."

"Well, there goes my respect for him as a prankster," I said as I placed the MP3 player in her outstretched hand.

"Actually, it took a lot to get it out of him. Patricia pinned him to the ground and Amber tickled him until he told me where it was," she said in response. I smirked as I pictured that incident in my head. I would have to give Alfie grief about it later. And speaking of grief; I remembered something important.

"So Nina, anything you want to talk about?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Nina gave me an odd look and I continued. "Is there some sort of inner trauma you feel that can only be relieved through hard rock music?" Nina rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. I smiled as I followed her out into the living room. Sometimes these people just made it too easy to torment.

Sitting on the couch, cuddling, were Mara and Mick. Gross. I glanced over at Alfie and pretended to gag, which in turn made him laugh. I quickly scanned the room to see if there was anyone else to make fun of and I saw Fabian and Nina sitting at the table, heads bent, whispering softly. Those two seriously needed to just do something about their relationship. It was annoying to watch.

Unable to take the high levels of gooey, mushy, lovey-dovey feelings in the room I turned and walked back out. "Jerome!" I turned around to see Mara walking towards me. I instantly felt my frustration vanish as soon as I saw her smile. "You know that movie you wanted to watch with me? Well I was wondering if you wanted to watch it with me after supper," she asked. I felt a grin break out over my face but I quickly covered it up with a look of indifference.

"Sure. I guess we can," I said as calmly as I could. Mara's smile got ever wider and I had to take a few deep breaths to keep my cool.

"Great! I can't wait." She turned around and walked into the living room. Once I saw her vanish around the corner, I turned and ran into my room. Slamming the door behind me I finally let my smile sneak its way across my face.

As I sat back down on my bed I pulled out my book again and opened to the page I left off at. While I may not understand half of what's written, Mara likes it and that's enough for me. I grinned as I realized that because of a girl I was actually reading a book. If Alfie ever find out I'll never live it down. I turned the page and continued to read. "What on earth are you doing?" I looked up to see Alfie staring at me, his eyes wide, mouth forming a perfect O. I groaned. This was just fantastic.

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**Oh, and one more thing. Never mind, two things haha. Number one-hit that little button at the bottom of your screen. It bring up a pop up where you can leave a review telling me what you thought of the story. It would make me so happy if you wrote something there. Something longer than 10 words would be nice. If you loved the story-tell me something specific you loved about it. If you hated it (and I'm praying you didn't) tell me what you hated. In a nice way of course. I can take as much CC as you want to give me, flames on the other hand...well if you want to know what I do to flammers I suggest reading my review under the story Jerome and Mara. That'll give you an idea of what I will do to you if you flame me. Leave a nice review though and I'll give you cookies! My second thing is this- NEW EPISODES THIS WEEK! I'M SO EXCITED!**


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